What are the best credit card sign-up deals for May 2018? – plus a news round-up

UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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It is time for our regular round up of what is coming and what is going in the world of UK airline and hotel credit card sign-up deals.

‘Stuff’ is still going on after a relatively dull period.  The market is slowly coming to terms with the interchange fee caps and is moving forward.  Below you can read about:

• A new bonus worth 2,400 Avios on the free Tesco Clubcard Mastercard
• The upcoming closure of the MBNA Virgin Atlantic cards
• The return of the Marriott Rewards Mastercard and
• The overnight change of Amex Gold from a charge card to a credit card

Our directory of the 16 main UK travel credit cards can be found by clicking the ‘Credit Cards’ tab at the top of the site or – for email, Flipboard, Apple News or mobile readers – by clicking here.

What is new in the last month?

Get 2,400 Avios with the FREE Tesco credit card

The newest new news is the 2,400 Avios or 2,500 Virgin Flying Club miles sign-up bonus on the FREE Tesco Clubcard Mastercard.

The bonus is actually 1,000 Tesco Clubcard points but that converts into Avios or Virgin miles at the rates above.

We rarely see a bonus on this card.  You don’t even need to hit a spend target – you get the bonus as soon as you make your first transaction.  The representative APR is 18.9% variable.  My full article on the deal is here and you can apply here.

The Tesco Clubcard Mastercard is the most generous free Visa or Mastercard for earning Avios unless you have a £75k+ salary and qualify for HSBC Premier.

The Tesco Premium card is still offering 12,000 Avios

The Tesco Premium credit card is offering a sign-up bonus of 5,000 Tesco Clubcard points until 11th July.  This means that the bonus is worth 12,500 Virgin Flying Club miles or 12,000 Avios.

There is no spend target.  You simply need to make one purchase in Tesco within the first two months.

The snag is the £150 annual fee, which basically nets off the bonus.  This means that whether you get the card depends on how you value the other benefits, including free travel insurance and a strong (for Avios) earning rate which works out at 0.6 Avios per £1 spent.

If you spend over £5000 per year with Tesco on this card, including petrol, you receive an end-of-year bonus of another 5,000 Clubcard points.  This does make it a decent proposition but clearly not many people spend that much.

You can apply here but read my full article on the deal first.  Representative APR 56.5% variable, including the fee, assuming a £1200 credit limit.

The Marriott Mastercard is coming back

Marriott has announced that the free Creation-issued Marriott Rewards Mastercard will return in August.

If the package remains unchanged, this is an OK card.  You earn 1 Marriott Rewards point per £1 spent, which I value at 0.5p.

Existing cardholders, from before the card was withdrawn two years ago, get two good extra benefits.  You receive 2,000 Marriott Rewards point for free, every year, as a gift.  You also receive 10 nights credit towards elite status which gives you Marriott Rewards Silver automatically.  It isn’t clear if these benefits will remain.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold became a credit card

With absolutely no notice at all, American Express turned its Preferred Rewards Gold charge card into a credit card overnight.

This has no impact on existing Gold charge card holders.  However, I would stress a couple of points:

If you have Gold charge, you are allowed to apply for Gold credit.  You won’t get a sign-up bonus but you would get another ‘free first year’ and another two Lounge Pass vouchers.  This is a tempting idea if you are currently paying for Amex Gold charge.

It will no longer be possible to get a bonus for upgrading from Gold to Platinum, as you cannot upgrade a credit card to a charge card – they are totally different products from a regulatory standpoint

My full article on the change is here.  Representative APR 57.6% variable including the annual fee (free in year 1) based on a notional £1,200 credit limit. Interest rate on purchases 22.9% APR variable.

MBNA is closing its Virgin Atlantic White and Black cards – apply for the new ones now

In April we saw the welcome launch of the two new Virgin Atlantic credit cards.  As these are brand new, you should – if you haven’t read my recent articles – read these three pieces: one, two and three.  They will help you decide which card to get.

If you don’t have any existing Virgin Flying Club miles, I wrote this article to help you decide if the new credit cards were a good excuse to start collecting.

Last week, MBNA wrote to all existing Virgin Atlantic credit card holders telling them that ‘changes were coming’.  The letter was purposely vague, but I am treating it as the official ’60 days notice of closure’ which means that you should expect the cards to be turned off at the end of June or thereabouts.

To summarise the key facts about the new Virgin Money-issued Virgin Atlantic cards:

You CAN apply for these cards – and get a sign-up bonus – if you already have the MBNA Virgin Atlantic credit cards.  You don’t need to wait for your MBNA cards to be closed.

The free Reward card has a 5000 miles sign-up bonus, earns 0.75 miles per £1 and comes with a 241 or upgrade voucher for spending £20,000 per year

The £160 Reward+ card has a 15000 miles sign-up bonus, earns 1.5 miles per £1 and comes with a 241 or upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 per year

The cards are issued by Virgin Money so it is very unlikely that you will be conflicted due to having any other cards from the same bank

You can apply for the free Reward card here and the £160 Reward+ card here.   You can compare the cards side-by-side here.

Frankly, as long as your credit is excellent, picking up 5000 miles from the free Virgin Reward credit card seems a no-brainer especially as there is no minimum spend threshold.

Legal stuff: I need to tell you that the free Reward card has a representative APR of 22.9% variable.  The Reward+ card has a representative APR of 63.9% based on a notional £1200 credit limit and the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 22.9%.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.